Monday, May 07, 2007

Sunny Wholegrain Sushi

Here's one of my lunches for a change, photographed in a colorful Melamine 3-Layer Tiffin from Pearl River. I actually bought the lunch box as a gift for a friend who collects melamine (shh, don't tell!) but couldn't resist posing a lunch in it before passing it on.

On the upper right is a big serving of Asian Salad made with baby lettuces, cucumber, edamame, carrot, and daikon.

On the upper left are some Sunny Wholegrain Sushi cones, filled with healthy whole grains, avocado slices, and sunflower sprouts. I shaped the cones using a sushi cone mold from BentoTV.

Above the cones are a pig-shaped container of homemade Ponzu Sauce for the sushi, a kiwi container of Orange Dressing for the salad, and some Japanese Spinach from Vegan Lunch Box. This recipe from my aunt is the ideal way to prepare cooked spinach for a lunch box; the spinach is barely blanched and all the liquid is squeezed out, leaving the spinach chewy and flavorful, and excellent cold.

For dessert are two mandarin orange flowers with kiwi fruit centers.

Verdict: In an appalling act of mealtime injustice, my husband ate both of my mandarin flowers when I wasn't looking, and had to face my righteous, mandarin-deprived wrath. 5 stars.

Love sushi and find it would make an ideal lunch - but do you have any tips on how to keep sushi fresh? I find that not freshly made sushi is disgusting, even if its from the night before. I don't really have time to cook the rice in the morning, cool it and make the sushi...

I really love your blog. I now have the fit and fresh, a stainless 3-container stacker, and a Mr Bento for our house! I really need the kiwi and pig containers! What is a reliable source? I have only seen eBay/BentoTV, but then things are sold-out.Thank you!

Hi Jennifer, I can't wait to try the spinach recipe in your book - I'm planning on it this weekend. I also just read through Vegetarian Times & saw the article you're in - congratulations!I've been a fan of your blog for quite some time now! Thank you for all the inspiration! =-)

I'm looking for a good, sturdy but lightweight lunchbox for taking to work on a daily basis. I want something solid and stylish, but not heavy like stainless steel. I looked at the melamine tiffin boxes (specifically the 3-tier) at Pearl River. Are these a good choice?

Hi, this is kind of off the topic, but it's something I've been wondering about a while now. Are you worried at all about the wheat gluten being tainted in any vegetarian products? I emailed Amy's and they said they only use wheat gluten from the US. Just curious what your thinking is. Thanks.

I can't believe you bought these at Pearl River. I go there all the time in NY...I could spend hours there just browsing [much to Omniman's chagrin]. I am also impressed by their rows and rows of flipflops and casual shoes! I know this has little to do with your yummy vegan lunchboxes...but hey, great minds shop alike. ;)

This is so cute! Plus I love sushi - so that's a bonus in this lunch I guess.By the way, I made some of your whole-meal muffins last night (subbing dried cranberries for the raisins and pear juice for the apple juice...and topping each one with a walnut half). They are really yummy and I now have a bag full in my freezer!Diana

I don't know why nori wouldn't be vegan -- it's just sheets of seaweed that have been dried and sometimes gently toasted. Whether seaweed is kosher or not, I don't know. I think kosher certification is a different issue.

Sorry, I should have explained more. Most nori can't get a kosher certificate because it is full of seahorses. They basically have to pay someone to sit at a lightbox and look through every sheet. I look for a kosher certificate to make sure it is vegan.

I stopped eating seaweeds because of it, sadly. I'm yet to find a good supplier. By the same token though, I recently ordered some vegan meal powders - may have been Vega - and am trusting that they've checked out the sources of any sealife/algaes in the product, since they're vegan.